Results tagged “Salute to Troy”

The Trojan Family celebrated the kick off of USC football season with the annual Salute to Troy BBQ on Friday night. The 2016 team was introduced as the Spirit of Troy performed, the Song Girls danced and fireworks capped a perfect Los Angeles night.

Sarkisian: "I sincerely apologize to my players and staff and to our fans for my behavior and my inappropriate language at our kickoff event Saturday night. I have a responsibility to all of them and I let them down. Pat Haden talked to me after the event about my actions and I assured him this will not happen again."

Haden: "I met with Coach Sarkisian and I expressed my disappointment in the way he represented himself and the University at our Salute To Troy event. While the details of our conversation will remain between us, I am confident he heard my message loud and clear."

Salute to Troy is just around the corner! The annual celebration of past and present USC football teams will be held on August 22 at 6:00 p.m. at Loker Track Stadium and is open to everyone. This year, the 1965 and 1990 football teams will be honored as they celebrate their 50th and 25th anniversaries. Also, the 2015 USC football team will be officially introduced to kick off the upcoming season.

USC football kicked off the new season in a ceremonial fashion Saturday with the annual Salute to Troy BBQ. The 1964 and 1989 Trojans were honored on their 50- and 25-year anniversaries, and the 2014 team was introduced to a packed crowd on Cromwell Field.

The annual Salute to Troy football kickoff BBQ is set for Saturday, August 23, with dinner starting at 5:30 p.m. and the program to follow at 6:30 p.m. You are all invited to the outdoor event on campus at Cromwell Field, which includes the opportunity to take pictures with the players, collect autographs, and hear from the coaches about the upcoming season.

The Trojan Family gathered for the annual Salute to Troy kickoff BBQ Saturday as a new season is only three days away. Along with introducing the 2013 Trojans, the 1988 and 1963 anniversary teams were honored.

With the annual Salute To Troy event occurring on Saturday, USC's Office
of Athletic Compliance has issued the following reminder to Trojan
fans:

"As you may have read, there have been reports in the media
regarding the issue of student-athletes profiting from the sale of
autographs. Some people are under the mistaken impression that, if
the student-athlete is not paid for the autograph, it is permissible to
sell it. THIS IS NOT TRUE! A student-athlete may not provide an
autograph for an item he/she knows will be sold, even if the
student-athlete does not profit. To do so would jeopardize the
student-athlete's eligibility.

"USC is committed to providing a positive experience for all our
student-athletes and fans. However, we must take steps to protect
the eligibility of our student-athletes, and we are asking for your
cooperation in this endeavor. Thus, all autographs obtained at
Salute to Troy, or at any other time from a current student-athlete,
should be personalized and are provided with the mutual understanding
that the item received will never be sold or traded for anything of value
as long as any autograph on that item represents a student-athlete
currently competing for USC. Your cooperation in protecting our
student-athletes is greatly appreciated."

The annual USC football kickoff BBQ "Salute to Troy" will be held Saturday, August 24, on campus at Cromwell Field. Dinner starts at 4:30 p.m. with the program to follow at 5:30 p.m.

All Trojan fans are invited to partake in the celebration of USC's 125th anniversary and the introduction of the 2013 team. As is tradition, we'll pay tribute to the 50th anniversary team (1963) and the 25th anniversary team (1988).

Plus, fans will get to meet the players, take pictures with them and collect autographs. And, the Spirit of Troy will perform with appearances by the Song Girls and Traveler.

Each month, we interview Athletic Director Pat Haden on the latest news and stories around Heritage Hall.

What are you hoping for from the Friday Night Lights women's soccer match vs. No. 1 Stanford at the Coliseum?

Last time in the Coliseum, women's soccer played a highly-ranked UCLA team in front of 10,000 people and set a new attendance record for a regular season game and beat the Bruins. We are hoping for similar results this week from our team and our fans. Our program is really close. We have played seven overtime games this year. We could have a great finish.

Friday is a huge night for USC athletics. Tell us about the women's volleyball match vs. No. 1 Washington.

The women really appreciate it when people come to support them. Our team is growing and developing, led by All-American Natalie Hagglund and sensational freshman Samantha Bricio. We are going to peak at the right time this season. This is a really significant and important game for us to get that momentum going down the stretch.

We will be hosting a free open scrimmage for our fans to see for themselves the new men's and women's basketball teams. I have a much better feeling about the prospects of our teams this year, but I do not want you to take my word for it. Come out and watch and make up your own mind. Plus, the event will be great for kids with an autograph session, prizes, contests and giveaways.

How can the Trojan Family play a role in the football team's finishing stretch?

These next five games - four of which are in Los Angeles - are going to determine our season. We need the sold out crowds to provide a real home field advantage like we have faced on the road this year. Our guys feel it. We want noise on every single down. It is going to be a fun month of November.

What do you think of Matt Barkley being named a NFF National Scholar-Athlete?

I am thrilled for Matt who is just one of 15 football players to win this award, and only the 13th Trojan ever to do so. Once again, it shows you the type of young man he is. He has done virtually everything right since he has been here. On the field, he has been as good as any quarterback in conference history with the records he set last week. In the community, he has gone to Haiti and to Africa and made the world a better place. And the third bucket, he is a premier student as well. While USC has had incredible athletes over its 125 years, Matt Barkley may well go down as the greatest Trojan of them all when you consider academics, athletics, community service and leadership.

USC men's and women's basketball will hold an opening exhibition on October 28 at Noon PT in Galen Center to introduce fans to all the new exciting players on both rosters. Basketball Salute to Troy tickets are FREE for all, so come meet the team.

The day includes a Fanfest filled with games, giveaways and contests followed by two scrimmages and then team autograph sessions.

USC athletics will celebrate its proud Olympic tradition, which boasts more
Olympians, gold medalists and overall medalists than any other U.S.
university, as we follow Trojans past and current on the road to London 2012.

"Everybody talks about the 'spirit of Troy,'" said four-time Olympic gold medalist John Naber (pictured with C.L. Max Nikias and Pat Haden). "One of the few ways we can actually measure the 'spirit of Troy' is by the athletic performance and the pride the university takes in its student-athletes. There's no question this school produces champions athletically and academically."

Naber was the swimming star of the 1976 games in Montreal, but he prepared for the summer of his life like every other Trojan.

"I was a resident adviser in 1975, so I cluttered my life with worrying about incoming freshman," Naber reminisced. "But I was very much aware that it would be the last year of my life that I was not an Olympian and I was expected to carry the mantle for USC in Montreal."

The "mantle" features 122 gold medals with at least one in every summer Olympics since 1912.

Several champions were honored at "Salute to Troy," including Naber, war hero Louis Zamperini and track star Quincy Watts (all in the video below), and many more will be announced at football games and profiled on the blog.

USC's annual football kickoff extravaganza was a celebration of Trojan tradition, past and present.

New president C.L. Max Nikias introduced new athletic director Pat Haden, who welcomed new head coach Lane Kiffin.

As the program looks forward, Kiffin did take time to acknowledge the past as he welcomed back former USC greats Kennedy Pola, Joe Barry, Keary Colbert, Ed Orgeron and Sammy Knight, who are all part of his new staff.

Of course, Monte Kiffin, the elder statesman of the coaching crew, stole the show by regaling the packed Cromwell Field crowd with story after story. At one point, Lane Kiffin tried to give him the hook, but Monte went undeterred prompting a father/son moment.

"Now you understand what my life has been like for 35 years," Lane Kiffin said once Monte departed the stage. "And he still doesn't listen to me in meetings!"

Of course, Ed Orgeron never fails to make an impression. While he did not play at USC, he is part of Trojan lore.

"There's only one choice -- to bow up and fight!" Coach O exclaimed regarding the sanctions.

Special teams coach John Baxter, the master of metaphor, broke out a few of his choice cuts for the Trojan family. He wanted everyone to know that this staff is committed to this program and these kids.

"What is the difference between involved and committed? It's the ham and eggs breakfast. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed," Baxter said.

He then made it clear that his special teams unit will be the hammer not the nail.

"We're on a mission and I don't know the result, but all that's going to be left is smoke and shoes," Baxter compared his unit to the "tip of the spear."

Kennedy Pola joined the staff right before camp, but his intensity has already paid dividends. After letting out a Samoan shout, he made a proclamation about his running backs.

"They don't know me much. They don't me at all, but I promise you they are finding out."

With the band rocking, the song girls on center stage and fireworks to cap the show, Trojan football is officially ready for 2010.